Broadway Advocacy Coalition Announces Inaugural Fellowship: 'An Opportunity to Uplift, Empower and Support'

The Broadway Advocacy Coalition, a platform that advocates for students, artists, organizations and communities to use the arts as an integral part of social change, has announced the creation of its inaugural fellowship. The BAC Artivism Fellowship will support artist activists using their tools to have an impact on the world around them, providing financial support, mentorship, networking opportunities and education workshops. The inaugural class of fellows will specifically support Black, female-identifying artist activists in the United States that are focused on issues related to systemic racism and criminal justice reform and use narrative or stories in their work.

“Black women have always been on the front lines leading the charge for social justice, human rights and equality,” said BAC co-founder Adrienne Warren. “However, Black women are often left out of the narratives connected to those causes and rarely celebrated in moments of triumph. This fellowship is an opportunity to uplift, empower and support female-identifying artists of color, while centering those directly affected by systemic racism and inequality through BAC’s methodology. We are all served when a Black woman’s voice is amplified.”

The fellowship will support 10 women over the course of six months and will culminate in a digital presentation of their work. The nominating committee for the fellowship includes Amber Iman, Liza Jessie Peterson, Zakiyah Ansari and Imani Mflame. Wicked is the lead sponsor of the BAC Artivism Fellowship. Additional members of the nomination committee and further details will be announced at a later date.

BAC, which was was founded in 2016 by Warren, Iman, Jackie Bell, Cameron J. Ross, Britton Smith and Christian Dante White, held a three-part forum Broadway For Black Lives Matter Again from June 10 through June 12. BAC's inaugural event was Broadway for Black Lives Matter, which featured Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and more theater luminaries alongside policy experts and activists. BAC was also behind the “COVID & Incarceration” edition of the 24 Hour Plays: Viral Monologues.